William koch



(No Model.)

W. KOCH.

. SHUTTLE CARRIER. AND RACE MECHANISM.

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E w m ET .LC R 1 Z ATTORNEY WILLIAM noon, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SHUTTLE CARRIER AND RACE MECHANISM.

EPBCIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,853, dated August3, 1886.

Application filed September 7, 1885. Serial No. 176,373.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM KoeH, a citizen of the United States,residing at the'city of New York, in the county and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shuttle Carriers andRaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the shuttle mechanism of sewingand quilting machines. In my original application, Serial No. 119,177,filed January 30, 1884, and in my Patent No.823,584, dated August 4,1885, and filed May 20, 1885, during the pendency of my parentapplication first named, I have shown,but not claimed, certain featureswhich I now desire to patent, and which form the subject-matter ofinvention herein.

The object of my invention is, first, to make the shuttle-race so that acertain and positive reciprocating motion may be imparted to theshuttles; second, to construct the shuttle-carrier in a manner that willpermitthe removal of the shuttle without disturbing the cloth-plate, orthe removal of one of a series of shuttles without disturbing the othershuttles of a series; third, enabling the operator to examine at onceall the shuttles and shuttle mechanism for the purpose of adjustment,threading, or otherwise; fourth, to facilitate the prompt removal of theshuttle-carrier from the race, or the shuttle from the carrier, all inthe manner and for the purpose hereinafter with particularity set forthand claimed.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure l is a plan view ofshuttle, race, carrier, 850. Fig. 2 is a section of same in the line00.70, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of same in line 3 y, Fig. 2,showing the shuttle in end elevation. Fig. 4 is a plan view of springshuttle-carrier detached.

Similar letters of referenceindicate like parts in the several figures.I

The purpose of this invention, primarily,-

is to obviate the well-known difficultiesfound to exist inshuttle-operating mechanism as it at present exists, particularly when aseries of shuttles are employed with a series of needles arranged in twoor more rows, as in a quilting-machine; and to this end I firstconstruct each section A of the race of any convenient length, width,and breadth, with one (No model.)

of its sidcs,a,plane or flat,and its other side,b, curved to about thesame radius as is the curvature of the back of the shuttle. In the baseof each of the sections A, and extending throughout its length, isformed a rabbet or groove, 0. Each section is provided on its flat side(6 with a channel for the thread. (See dotted lines, Fig. 3.)

The sections, constructed substantially as described,are secured tosuitable brackets, B, with a space, e, between adjacent sections, sothat each section will be parallel with the other, and so that thecurved side I) of each sec tion will face the flat sidea of itsneighboring section. It being understood that the brackets B are fixedto that part of the sewing or quilting machine that will make theshuttles and their mechanism effective, I will proceed to describe theshuttlecarrier G, which consists of a stem, f, in form of any suitablecross-section, but preferably square, and proportioned to fit into thespace or way 6 between the sections A of the race. The length of eachcarrier should exceed somewhat the length of the sections A. On one sideof the stem of the carrier, and near its inner end, is formed a featheror spline, g, constructed to fit snugly into the rabbet c in the base ofthe section A. The inner end of the stem of the carrier terminates in ahook, h, with an incline, i, at its base; also, to the stem of thecarrier, and to its upper surface, is fixed a projection, k, thedistance between projection and hook it being about equal to the lengthof a shuttle. The outer half of the stem f of the carrier 0 is dividedinto two parts, Z and m, or the stem has these two parts secured to itin any desirable manner, and these parts not only form parts of the stemof the carrier itself, but they also constitute springs which terminatein jaws n at the outer end of the stem, (I have designated the hookedend, the inner end, and the end with the jaws, the outer for convenienceof reference.) A stud, r, may be fixed at one side of the jaw, by meansof which the carrier can be locked to the reciprocating block D. YVhenaseries of shuttle-carriers are employed, as with a quilting-machine orany gang-needle sewing-machine, instead of providing the stem of thecarriers with springs and jaws, as heretofore described, the outer end,or end oppories of carriers.

site the hook h, may be screwed fast to the block D. In that case,however, the screws must be removed before the carrier can be whollywithdrawn from the race, should that become necessary. It is best,however, even with that construction, to have some of the carriers madewith springs and jaws, as a convenient means for drawing out the entirese- (See Fig. 1.)

Now, when my shuttle-races and shuttlecarriers are constructed,combined, and arranged substantially as Ihave in the foregoing describedthem, the operation is as follows: The shuttle E is placed on thecarrier 0, with its base adjacent to the projection k, and its pointedend beneath the hook h and resting against the incline or bolster i, thefiat or open side of the shuttle fits against the flat side a of thesection A, and the curved back of the shuttle is received in the curvedsurface I) of the next adjacent section. A carrier being placed betweeneach two sections. and each carrier containing, in the manner described,ashuttle, the thread from the shuttle is conveyed through the usualchannel. Now, as is obvious from the foregoing description, when theblock D, or a similar or equivalent device, is caused to reciprocate byany well-known mechanical means such as cams, cranks, or c0nnecting-rodsoperated by the driving-shaft of the machine to which the shuttles areattached-a corresponding reciprocating motion is imparted to the carrier0, which in turn carries the shuttle through the race, the hook h andprojection is being sufficient to confine the shuttle to the carrier,while the plane or flat surface a of one section, A, and the curvedsurface b of the next adjacent section act as guides for the fiat oropen side of the shuttle and its curved back, respectively. The spline 9within the groove 0 prevents any tendency on the part of the carrier tojump up or down, and therefore produces a steady and positivereciprocating movement, which is so essential to the perfect regularstitching, particularly in quilting or, other sewing,where a givendesign is to be stitched. W hen it becomes necessary to examine orremove a shuttle belonging to a needle in a remote row of needles forthe purpose of threading it or otherwise, the jaws n are pressedtogether by the thumb and finger of the operator,disengaging the stud ron thejaw n from a corresponding notch, s, when the carrier 0 may,withits shuttle, at once be freely withdrawn from the sections Aorshuttle-race, and the shuttle instantly removed and as quicklyreplaced, the entire carrier and shuttle being exposed for examinationwithout removing the cloth-plate of the machine, or without going underthe machine or removing any of its parts, or causing the shuttle to dropfrom its carrier, as is common with some other shuttle mechanismemployed in machines having two or more rows of needles.

As before stated, if desired,the springs land jaws n may be dispensedwith, the ends of the carriers in such case being directly secured tothe reciprocating block D. In some cases where a number of carriers areemployedas for a large gang-needle machine-this form of constructionwill be found convenient The result obtained is thesame as with thespring-carriers, excepting that no single carrier can be withdrawnentirely from the race without removing the attaching-screws and to someextent disturbing the other carriers.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In shuttle mechanism for gang-needle sewing or quilting machines, theshuttle-races thereof, consisting of a series of connected sections, A,each constructed with afiat or plane surface, a, on one side and acurved surface, b, on the other side, and provided with a groove orrabbet, c, in its base, the plane surface of one section forming theflat or vertical wall of the shuttle-race formed by it and the curvedside of the next adjacent section, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The series of sections A, each constructed with a flat side, a, acurved side, b, and the groove or rabbet c, with spaces e interveningbetween said sections, the opposite sides of ad jacent sections formingways for the shuttles, combined with shuttle-carriers O, which are eachprovided with a hook, h, and projection k, to engage and hold a shuttle,and also a spline, 9, adapted to work in the groove or rabbet of saidsections, the said carriers constructed to work in the spaces betweenadjacent sections, substantially as described.

3. The series of sections A, each constructed with afiat side, a, acurved side, b, and the groove or rabbet c, with spaces 0 interveningbetween said sections, the opposite sides of adjacent sections formingways for the shuttles, combined with shuttle-carriers O, which are eachprovided with a hook, h, and projection k, to engage and hold a shuttle,and also aspline, 5/, adapted to work'iu the groove or rabbet of saidsections, the said carriers constructed to work in the spaces betweenadjacent sections, and with a reciprocating block, to which the outerends'or stems of the shuttle-carriers are detachably connected,substantially as described.

WILLIAM KOCH. Witnesses:

G. M. PLYMPTON, L. MoN'rEMAR.

